NTHNL drops new full-length record

Jacob Rudin is a pioneering artist with a fiercely unique sonic output, a classically trained composer and pianist turned multi-flutist, producer and sound-healing practitioner who operates in the overlap between experimental music and emotional healing under his moniker NTHNL. Based in Brooklyn, NTHNL’s creative practice sits at the crossroads of artistic expression and personal reflection.

His work moves between performance, production and meditation, uniting modern composition with cutting edge sound design, field recordings and improvisation. Leading soundbaths across the city to performing with his band, his goal remains the same, to use sound as a tool for connection and transformation while developing a highly compelling sonic vision.

First unveiling the NTHNL sound in 2019, he dropped the debut single “My Fantasy” featuring Andie Moon, which was quickly followed up by singles two and three before his debut album, Cosmic Flute, landed later that year. Since then, he’s delivered an impressive catalogue of work across multiple tracks and records while linking up with the likes of Caroline Kuhn, Kim Mayo, Beccs, Sam Graham, Eline Marx and Sphente along the way.

Now, NTHNL presents his most ambitious project thus far with the brand new LP titled What Kind of World Is This?, a fourteen-track record that lands like a techno-opera, instilled with a story-focused arc and emotional scope. It’s a concept album that seeks to answer the profound question of how do we find compassion for those whose views and actions we find destructive?

The release began as a concept album and blossomed into a feature film, mirroring its journey from contemplation to expression. Thematically, the record recounts a tale that follows a protagonist who begins in a state of wistful reflection before encountering a prophet who compels him to descend into hell, a metaphorical journey into humanity’s darkest corners.

Opened by “Awakenings” parts one and two, the album starts with bright fluttering tones and airy flute tones, forming a playful instrumental scene that builds from delicate arrangement towards a beat-driven energy across the second piece. “Tiresias Rock” brings punchy kick rhythms as the wobble of squelchy bass synth forms a jaunty electronic soundscape, contrasted by the stunning flickers of lead flute and soulful sax that ring out above with warm, organic vibes.

Tracks like “Realization” cast moody atmosphere through immersive instrumental tones, sweeping textures, the shuffle of crisp percussion and enveloping sound design, resulting in a wholly absorbing listening experience. “Converting the Infidels” serves up an engrossing slice of avant-garde electronic music, offering a detour into deconstructed club energy to deliver a brooding soundscape shrouded in darkness, driven with pulsing forward motion and the strike of metallic tones.

With “Face Up, Twilight,” NTHNL links up with Nakama. to lay down a grooving jam where breezy jazz-inflected flute leads gloat above the laid back bounce of the beat while Nakama.’s slick rapped flows add razor sharp vocalisations. Closing the record with bonus track “A Tyrant’s Mercy,” an ominous spoken word vocal hovers alongside the stretched brush of hazy instrumental textures to forge an engaging finale to NTHNL’s sensational new album.

Listen to What Kind of World is This? below